Old Shadows Reunited (Part 2)

It was Su Wantang.

It was that "Porcelain Azalea" who seemed frail and helpless at home, whom he had treated with indifference, silently worrying over him and making plans for him.

She had carefully arranged her most trusted and capable senior, placing her near him like a silent guardian, a bodyguard lurking in the shadows.

And in his Previous Life, he had known nothing about it.

He had enjoyed the convenience brought by Chen Xi's extraordinary loyalty and capability, yet had never questioned where that loyalty came from.

He had taken Su Wantang's gentle care for granted, even keeping her at a distance, never knowing that behind that gentleness lay such deep, unspoken protection.

After the enormous shock came a surging torrent of emotion, so intense it was almost painful.

Guilt, shock, gratitude, and a burning urge to immediately do something all collided in his heart.

The hand resting on his knee silently clenched into a fist. His knuckles turned faintly white from the force as he barely maintained his outward composure.

He raised his eyes and looked at Chen Xi again.

This time, his gaze was entirely different.

There was less probing than before, replaced by an indescribable heaviness and complexity, as well as an almost solemn understanding.

"Teacher Chen," he said, his voice slightly hoarse, though every word was exceptionally clear. "Porcelain... Su... her... do you know her?"

"Yes, I know Wantang. She was my junior at Peking University, two years below me."

Chen Xi's tone became calm, as though she were recounting something from long ago. "We... have always been close."

Zhao Chen listened quietly without interrupting.

"After she married Zhao Jianguo, she wasn't happy."

Chen Xi's gaze drifted toward the deep night beyond the window, and her voice lowered.

"Her health was poor. She couldn't have children, and in that family... she was like a beautiful vase. She often mentioned you to me, saying you were thoughtful but stubborn. She was always worried that you would suffer."

"Last year, she came to me. At the time, I had just ended a... rather unpleasant work experience and was temporarily working as a counselor at Zhengfa University."

"After she learned that, she earnestly asked me, saying, 'Xi Jie, Xiao Chen is at Zhengfa University too. I'm worried about him. Could you... help keep an eye on him? Don't let anyone bully him, and don't let him go down the wrong path himself.'"

Chen Xi turned back to look at Zhao Chen, her eyes carrying a complicated sigh.

"She looked gentle, but she was more stubborn than anyone. Once she set her mind on something, she would always carry it in her heart. I promised her."

Zhao Chen felt his throat tighten.

He could almost see how, in that home where he had treated her with indifference, Su Wantang had carried unspeakable worries as she carefully entrusted his care to the most reliable person she could find.

Zhao Chen felt his throat tighten, as though something warm and heavy had lodged there.

The office was silent, save for the faint ticking of the second hand on the wall clock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Each beat struck against his heart.

After a long while, Zhao Chen drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

He released his clenched fist, his fingertips tingling slightly.

"I understand."

His voice had regained its steadiness, but beneath that calm, something unbreakable seemed to have been forged.

"I'll handle the skipped classes properly. I won't make things difficult for you."

Chen Xi watched him, keenly sensing a change in his presence.

He was no longer a carefree rich kid, nor a student pretending to be profound. Instead, there was something... difficult to describe: a tempered calmness and resolve.

"How do you plan to handle it?" she asked in a businesslike manner, though her tone had softened considerably.

"I'll get a medical certificate as soon as possible," Zhao Chen said bluntly. "A legitimate diagnosis that requires a certain period of rest. I'll get it as soon as I can and submit the leave paperwork."

"Sick leave." She quickly reached her conclusion.

"That's the most conventional and hardest-to-refute reason. You'll need a diagnosis certificate and rest recommendation from a proper hospital, matching your 'condition.' Can you get that?"

"I can." Zhao Chen immediately thought of Zhang Qingxue. With her connections and resources, handling this would be effortless.

Chen Xi nodded. This was indeed the most standard and effective solution. "How long?"

"By tomorrow."

"Alright." Chen Xi nodded, resuming the crisp tone of a counselor.

"Get the relevant documents to me as soon as possible. Before the documentation is complete, I'll temporarily hold back the pressure from Chen Hao by saying that 'the situation is still being verified and we need to wait for the student to submit the materials.'"

"I'm giving you two days. If you still don't have compliant paperwork after two days, I won't be able to delay any longer."

"Two days is enough. Thank you, Teacher Chen." Zhao Chen's thanks were deeply solemn.

"Don't thank me." Chen Xi set down her pen, her gaze falling on his face through her lenses, her tone somewhat complicated.

"I promised Wantang. And besides..."

She paused, seeming to choose her words carefully. "You seem... different from before. Handle your affairs properly. Don't let her... or us down."

She said the word "us" very softly, but Zhao Chen understood.

He rose to his feet and gave Chen Xi a slight nod. "I won't."

When he left the Administration Building, the night wind had grown colder, but Zhao Chen's heart felt as though it had been washed through by a warm current, cleansing away the lonely chill of having carried his burdens alone for so long.